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Prelude to Kingship
Dawn of a Journey The ship stopped at a safe port of the island. The vessel bore the jolly roger of the Xros Pirates. It was clearly affiliated in some way. As it crept up to the wooden platform, a man of unkempt black hair swung around the upper deck of the ship and landed on the lower deck. He appeared to have been looking for something and once he found them he stood next to the lawnchair the person occupied. Sunday. That was what the day of the week was. It was early in the day, evident by sun that shined bright in the sky. It's 1:00 pm rays illuminated the lands, the sea, and the boat with its heat rays. Hell, it had been quite a while since the world was able to enjoy such a stable day. Then again, the location was in Paradise, the weather patterns weren't exactly known for being the roughest. The black-haired man kicked the lawnchair's foot, "Hey, get up." Said the man to the person lying with their face hidden by a giant hat that acted as some sort of shield against the rays of the sun. "It isn't even that hot, you know. What're you, some kind of little lady or something?" Slowly dragging the hat from the upper portion of his face a man revealed himself by only showing his forehead. His eyes were closed and he said nothing in response to the opposing man's question. He just let the sun sink into his body as though he sought to achieve a tan, but with his already naturally dark skin ton, he didn't need to do that. For him, it was about letting the moment sit in and marinate as what was to follow would be the story about his legacy. The dream of every man and woman who sought out the life of piracy. "We're here, asshole." The man shouted once more. He was Moses—a member of the Xros Pirates. Though he didn't seem like that much of a threat from this current exchange, this man held a bounty of 318,000,000 on his head. But what one could see was the look of annoyance scribbled all over the wanted pirate's face. "Hey, hey, Kuzma." Said Moses again, waiting for a response. Even so, Kuzma remained laid across the lawn chair for just a few more seconds. Again, it was the moment that he was trying to absorb and let sink. Many thoughts ran through his head and none of them gave him an expression. Underneath his hat was a blank face almost as if he were meditating om attempts to reach the higher plane. But only the "Mad Monk" truly knew how to reach that domain and it was far from anything Kuzma had been attempting. "Shut the hell up, Moses," the one named Kuzma said, gripping the top of the hat to keep it pressed tightly to his face. Lifting himself up from the chair, he continued to hold his hat up to his face. "My own adventure unfolds on this day, Moses. That means you become my enemy, don't become my first kill though." He ended, removing the hat from his face and revealing his complete appearance. Kuzma stood at six feet and eight inches a somewhat stocky fellow. He was brown and muscular with its tones being seen through his shirt. His physical appearance itself was unique in that he possessed thin eyes with dark outlining. His left eye was black while his right was white. Kuzma's hair was spiky on the left side with one big bang over his forehead. The right side of his head was cut short to accommodate the giant X-shaped scar on that side which spanned from the right side of his head to the right side of his face and over his eye. Finally, his hair was tied into a small ponytail with a black band and rested around his neck and over his chest. He wore a large fur captain's coat over his white long-sleeved chest exposing collar shirt. The coat was black in color and was made from the fur one of the most exotic of creatures, supposedly. His pants were black in color, coming to around his ankles like a pair of tailored slacks and black loafers. The Xros Pirates had been suffering from financial issues and it was possible that some of that came from the expenses of Kuzma's outfit. Moses lifted his eye, "I brought you all the way to the first half of the Grandline and you're still going to be a bad-mouthed brat. Shiguma should have left you where he found you. I should've just said no and ignored you." He suggested, folding his arms across his chest. "Oh yeah?" Kuzma asked, "Then you'd have died. I would've told Shiguma that you were the one taking his money. That would get you a one-way ticket to the afterlife." That was true, Shiguma may have been a liar but, when it came to his money, he didn't play one bit about it. Gritting his teeth, the black-haired pirate folded his arms across his chest. Even Moses knew it'd be foolish to let Kuzma relay a lie like that back, Shiguma loved his money even if he spent it stupidly. And what made matters worse, if it came from the lips of Kuzma, he'd believe it. "Why Elisium Island? And why're you gettin' dropped off? Should've just taken one of the Xes if you were gonna' be trying to start your own journey." "No dumb ass, I'm cutting ties from the crew complete. Ain't taking any more handouts from that old man. And this island holds a Marine base and is known to have some skilled ." Kuzma turned his neck left and right to crack it. "I'm gonna get a ship from here, I'll be perfectly fine." Squinting his eyes, Moses looked to Kuzma with an expression of surprise. "YOU!" He shouted, "You're the one who's been taking the captain's money." Kuzma met Moses's words with his own expression of confusion. "What no," he said, tucking his head before pulling the strings of the hat over his chest and dropping it to his back where it hung there. "I don't have money for a ship, Marine and civilian territory.. I'm a pirate, I'll make them make me one." Exclaimed Kuzma as he stood proud before leaping from the deck of the ship to the island's bay. At the moment that Kuzma dropped the hat to his back and leaped from the ship, an image of Shiguma flashed as Kuzma had given him a bit of a nostalgic feeling. "Well, damn... The way he talks he gives me flopping vibes. I don't know if he's evil or good." Turning around with a warm smile, Moses continued on. "I guess his story will tell us." ---- He doesn't talk. That's all anyone would say if you mentioned the massive Fishman kept within the marine base. Scubaza, word had it he was one thing or he was another. But in his cell, dried of all moisture and chained to the arid floor, only he knew his true tale. Scubaza hadn't quite intended for this predicament. After all, not too many intend on being locked up in prison. Especially in one that quite literally sucked you dry of your bodies water percentage. The Fishman winded up here due to one simple lack of caution. He had aimed to intercept a slave transport carrying a large number of his kind. He managed to free them, the Marines unable to even slow him down. But in his careless gloating, he allowed himself to be struck by a sleeping dart. A few hours later, he had woken in this cell. And now, he had no clue how long he'd been confined to this hell hole. He only smiled, but kept silent with each question asked of him. A man dressed in the uniform of the Marines approached the bars of Scubaza's cell. His captain's jacket flowed from his shoulders, a testament to his hard work and his current ranking. He was Marine Captain Uno, the man who ran the Marine Base of Dawn Town and the one responsible for Scubaza's capture. For the fish-man to even think he'd be able to save a band of his kind from the slave route of the Celestial Dragons was naive. The Fishmen were the strongest slaves that the nobles possessed and as such, they'd always guard them heavily when traveling across the sea. Uno cleared his throat, "Man, you could've just let it go." Said the thirty-one year old man as he puffed on his cigar. "It's unfortunate that you were willing to take that risk. Now, you'll have to be forced to spend the rest of your days in Impel Down for your foolishness." Placing his cigar into his mouth and holding it with the top and bottom rows of his teeth, he paused. Honestly, this had seemed to be quite a trend with the Marine's history of jailings. Fishmen always tried to rescue their comrades after being captured and sold into slavery. Sometimes they succeeded.. for the moment, only to have the same events of history to be repeated. "I really hate to keep seeing this." ---- Meanwhile, near the entrance of the town, there was a large commotion being made in a local bar. The bar had been utterly destroyed. Booze bottles were shattered while chairs and tables were broken. A few who sat on the outskirts within the bar looked to the center floor where everything had been going down and at the very core of this rowdy mess stood Kuzma. The young man hadn't been on the island for an hour and yet he had already begun to cause trouble. As the situation settled in and the people backed away to create a clearer view for the white-haired teen to be seen, he stood with one of his feet stamped onto the back of one of Dawn Town's citizens while he gripped another man by the neck held him so that his toes were only touching the ground. Both of the men were seriously injured. The man Kuzma had been holding had his throat crushed while the other had been bleeding from all over the place. These two men were in their predicament for making fun of Kuzma and his decision to become a pirate. He didn't mind their words for his decision in life. Usually, he'd just rough those up who spoke ill of his dreams, but the reasoning behind it being taken as far as it did was because of the disrespect that had been shown towards his hat. "All of you old no life bastards have made me sick," Kuzma began, finally breaking his silence after a long drought. "I ain't come to be rude, I just asked for directions to where the shipwrights are. I don't wanna hear any disrespect from senior citizens. You should be lucky I was respectful in even asking that I didn't even try to cause trouble." It was true, the young pirate didn't enter the place with an ill tongue he simply asked for directions and all he received in return was backlash. Squeezing onto the man's neck tighter, the civilian reached for Kuzma's arm and grabbed hold of it as a way of begging to be let go. "Now you wanna be let ago, huh? Tch," He tossed the man to the ground where he collided with a table and knocked it over. "Being passive won't always work, I guess that's why the old man went in with guns blazing." Kuzma said to himself at a level to where the others could not hear him. "Then, I'll ask again but it ain't gonna be as civil. I'll just kill all of you this time. "Where's the port where the shipwrights are?" At the very end of his question, the female worker from behind the counter sprang up. "It's north of this town! Just keep traveling down the path towards the right when you exit!" She shouted, quickly giving up the location of the ship makers in exchange for her and her people's lives. "Just please, let us live!" "Yohashihashi," he laughed, removing his foot from the man's back. Walking towards the exit of the establishment he sighed and closed his eyes. "I guess you all just needed a bit of motivation, ya?" "I'd be careful if I were you!" One of the people shouted at Kuzma, "Those two men you attacked are retired Navy Soldiers! I'm sure they'll come storming to the dock when they receive word of what you've done here. They'll lock you up, it's not worth it. You should just leave while you have a chance." Hand against the door, he held it open just before he stepped out completely. "Well, I know that of course. Why'd you think this island was targeted. I can't leave until I have a ship, it's a finesse ya know." Marine Enemy After traveling through the town, Kuzma finally found himself face to face with the gate that guarded the Marine base. As he looked up the building itself had a banner spread across its welcoming infrastructure. The banner read: "Marine 112th Branch". He didn't hesitate for a second as the only thing that stopped him from being able to reach his destination, was this that stood before him... for the time being at least. Arms folded across his chest the young pirate analyzed the gate. It may have only been a gate, but his old teacher once told him that no matter how small it may seem, always analyze it. Supposedly this was a strategy that came into fruition thanks to Aoshin's exemplary skill of foresight. Even if the target was inanimate to grab a full overview of what it was you were dealing it should be ideal and the first action any warrior needed to take. Shiguma's ability to increase his perception and analyzing skills were hindered thanks to his birth defect, but after the initial stages of the war on Xaris, he was able to find this enlightenment after stealing the Giro's abilities from Aoshin... but that was a tale for another time. Eyes slowly closing, Kuzma scoffed. Removing his left hand, Kuzma chopped at the air as though he were trying to attack it only to release a wave of needles that crashed into the gate and destroyed it. The immediate area was filled by a cloud of debris that swallowed Kuzma as well. As it cleared, a line of Marines appeared behind it as if the pirate's attack immediately summoned them. There were ten in counting each one held either a flintlock rifle or pistol, whichever they were feeling the part of holding for the day. The curved in front of the pirate and at first glance it just looked as though they were responding. However, they were actually in a specific formation angled and placed so that when the moment called they could squeeze the triggers and land clear shots. From behind the formation of Marines, a man dressed a tad different from them appeared. Chest poking out and hands and fingers interlocked behind his back, this man was clearly the cream of the crop of the ones standing before Kuzma. He wore a long-sleeved Marine shirt with their signature bandana tied around his neck underneath his collar. Eyes dead set onto Kuzma, the Marine broke the silence. "Lieutenant Commander Blu," he proclaimed proudly, "I take it you are the pirate who attacked the former Captain back Likke's Bar. Seems you got lost on your way to the shipwright port and ended up here. You've saved us the trouble of needing to find you." Blu was at least a foot shorter than Kuzma, forcing the young pirate to drop his black and white eyes down to the bottom of his sockets in order to. "Every Marine base is led by at least a Captain-rank Marine," Kuzma said, his knowledge of the world showing through what he was taught by his former master. "That just means you ain't the boss and I only deal with the boss." Kuzma dropped his arms to his side allowing them to dangle and as he did, his body emit a bright white light. In one moment he was there, but by the time the Marines made their next breath he had vanished. Each of the soldiers was stunned by the sudden disappearance of the pirate. There was no sound with his movements, not even the slightest push of wind. They wasted no time in reacting, each squeezing the trigger on their firearms with the intention of shooting down Kuzma under the false assumption that he had simply turned himself invisible. Just as their bullets left the barrels, their weapons fell to their feet. "'''Light Drive'..."'' Those were the only words heard following the sudden unarming process before Kuzma reappeared in his previous location with his arms folded across his chest as if nothing had happened. The Marines stepped back after he reappeared, looking down to their feet as their weapons had no longer been where they remember. Quickly looking back up they took in Kuzma's full appearance. Paused in the moment of shock, they were stunned as they attempted to comprehend the events that had just unfolded. "Fear not comrades," Said Blu, "We will not waver in the face of our enemy." If the lieutenant commander hadn't been fed up with pirates before, he certainly was now. They were plagues to the sea and the peace of the world. They were the very opposite of what the Marines wholeheartedly believed in—Justice. "We will defeat our enemy in the name of Justice!" He exclaimed, giving a boost in morale to his comrades as they all cheered. Again he scoffed. It was clear that this time he'd been mocking the Marines as they ignored his single order. The silence built up and the young man basked in it. There was so much going through his mind and he actually couldn't fully comprehend it. Or more that he didn't want to. When he was at least five years younger than he was when he faced Marine vessels while an apprentice of the Xros, even just his young face was enough to make the Marines bend to his every whim. He just couldn't figure out what he was doing wrong this time around. Had he been being too passive, simply because he didn't want to approach every single situation in the same manner that Shiguma did. With a widened eye, Kuzma instilled his presence over the riled Marines. By doing so he was able to immediately destroy their morale, bring them back to the level of when he had unarmed them in the blink of an eye. --- About five minutes following the previous events, Kuzma appeared walking towards the door of the Marine base with Blu held by the neck and his lower body dragging along the ground as if he were some sort of display doll. In his right hands, the one opposite of holding Blu, he gripped what seemed to be a sword made of white light. Entering the facility, Kuzma came to an immediate eye with the man who ran this entire place. With him in his sights, Kuzma seemed to have been at ease quickly taking notice of the fishman that had been placed behind the bars. "C-Captain," Blu uttered before his breathing completely stopped and blood spat from his mouth and soaked the marble floors of the Marine base. "Oi, oi!" Said Kuzma, "Yohashihashi," he then laughed, tossing Blu to the side revealing a large piercing wound to the left side of his chest. The cherry coloring of blood painted the marble floor thanks to the opened wound from Blu's body. But, that wasn't the only thing that had been painted. Upon closer inspection, one would also note that this exact same coloring had dripped from the tip of Kuzma's light sword construction. "If he called you captain, then that means you're actually the boss around here. That's good, I don't know how much longer I'd have been able to keep m-," "!!" Before Kuzma could even finish his sentence, Uno had disappeared through the use of Soru, revealing himself directly in front of the pirate unleashing a powerful strike at his chest with another force that sent him traveling back down the path he came into the wall. "You'll pay for what you did." Claimed Uno, taking up a fighting stance as he was fully prepared to engage Kuzma in combat. "By my honor as a Marine, I'll pay for what you've done to Blu." Pulling himself from the wall, Kuzma dusted his clothing off with his free hand whilst trying to ensure that his outfit hadn't been ruined. Gripping onto his hilt as if he were holding on for dear life, Kuzma smiled. "Oi, you are most definitely the boss around here. I felt that strike," the white-haired pirate paused and pointed to his chest, panting heavily as he did. "Right here in my chest." Kuzma pulled onto the red strings over his chest to pull his straw hat closer to his chest, wiping it off in essence. "He can still be save, ya know." Kuzma claimed, his smile no longer visible after stating those words. "What with his eyes?" Uno thought to himself, looking deep into the pirate's gaze. While falling into the young man's gaze, Uno noticed his tugging of the straw hat strings which surprised him even further. "Mugiwara", an instant flash of the broadcast from the battle between Aoshin and Shiguma snapped into his mind. Shiguma bounced in Gear Fourth with his feet coiled and his straw hat tied around his neck. The same one that Kuzma wore behind his back. Snapping back to reality, the Marine Captain remembered Kuzma's words of Blu still being able to be saved. He couldn't take those words lightly and quickly he shifted his gaze to the defeated lieutenant commander. "What do you mean he can still be saved? What are you trying to play here?" He was trained to not trust pirates, but there was something he just had to do. "I just need a ship, ya know... That's all. I tried being civil with the people earlier, but they said something that kinda ticked me off." Kuzma bit his bottom lip and as he did, he released the grip he had on the light sword before it withered away into thin air only to be replaced by a small silver cross-shaped pendant that was held around his wrist by a wristlet chain. It was a medium used for him to create the X-Sword. "If justice is truly what you seek, then you will allow me to remain stationed on this island until the skilled shipwrights of this island make my ship via your request of what I tell you. In exchange for that, I will ensure that no dies and I will save the life of that man." A rock in a hard place. That's where Uno was with the current situation. He was taught to never trust a pirate and always follow the model of justice put in place by the World Government. Though, in that same moment, he couldn't help but question what justice actually was. Did it mean not trust pirates to the point he'd pass up the possibility of saving a comrade? Or did it mean whatever morales you lived by so long as it didn't destroy or stand against the Commander-in-Chief directly? Tucking his hands into his pockets, Kuzma leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes. "I ain't no doctor, but if I were you, I'd make haste with that decision. He is kinda bleedin' out, ya know." "Damn," the Marine cursed to himself, "Even if I said no if I'm defeated right now, he'll just proceed to kill the people of this island. Then, that all would have been for nothing. And if I try to make contact with HQ and reach out, he'll just kill me. Shit!" he cursed once more, "There's no way this could all be unfolding by chance, he had to have thought this out... Especially considering he knew of this island's shipwrights. Plus, I don't know what his fruit is..." By this time, Uno had already come to a decision. Lowering his stance, he sighed. "I will accept your terms that have been offered." Uno lowered his face, "But if you betray those terms, then I won't hesitate to strike you down where you stand, White-Haired pirate." "Yeah, let's keep my name concealed. Trust me, it's much easier that way." Said Kuzma, "I would suggest you have the women of the town take care of the food and have the men aid the shipwrights in building the ship. The faster you finish, the faster I can leave, ya know?" the white-haired pirate made his way towards cell that housed the fishman. With his thumb lifted, he swung it towards the bars. "Hey, unlock this too before you go. I need someone I can at least talk to while I'm down at the port waiting all these days." Reluctant, the Marine had no choice and approached the cell after shuffling in his pocket for the keys. Unlocking it, he swung the cell door open and turned to head for the port where the shipwrights were located. "I'm gonna get on your friend now," Said Kuzma, walking over to Blu and lifting his body up. The fishman briefly rose his head to gaze upon his savior, but his head quickly feel back down. The dry and arid air of the cell would probably be felt by Kuzma full force, this being what kept Scubaza from freeing himself for so long. "Water..." He made out. "Water..." He called, desiring for something to quench his thirst. Category:Role-Plays Category:GranCrux